PAULA PASCHE: Matthew Stafford unfazed by criticism, moves on

ALLEN PARK — Matthew Stafford’s ears have not been burning this week.
He is not listening to criticism from the fans or media.

The Detroit Lions quarterback is going about his business to get ready for Sunday’s crucial game against the New York Giants at Ford Field.

“I don’t want to hurt y’alls feelings, but I don’t really listen to it or read it honestly or hear about it,’’ Stafford said on Friday. “It’s actually been pretty stress-free for me. Obviously, I want to play good. Not for you guys, but for my teammates and for the coaches in the locker room. They put a ton of hard work in. We are all doing everything we can to play as good as we possibly can. I’m not different.”

Except he is the quarterback.

When the offense goes south, all eyes are on him.

“Any time you’re losing games it’s going to be tougher,’’ Stafford said. “You have to write about something and talk about something. We understand that. That’s why it’s good to be in that locker room and away from media.’’

Stafford threw three interceptions in the Monday night loss to the Ravens. His game has slipped since the second half of the Pittsburgh game on Nov. 17 and the Lions have just won one of the last five games.

They go through film after every game, learning from the good plays and the bad ones.

“He knows that when we have a turnover by the quarterback position, he knows where the responsibility lies, whether the ball got tipped or anything else,’’ Linehan said. “It’s not a matter of accountability and being challenged, it’s a matter of keep moving forward and learn from them and know that if we make those improvements that there will be better days ahead.

“For three years, Matt’s had a lot of things that he’s done that’s really unprecedented in this offense as far as what he’s done. That hasn’t changed and that won’t change,’’ Linehan said. “He just needs to be like all the rest of these guys. If we individually do something better each game, we’re going to collectively play better.”

Like every quarterback there are throws Stafford wishes he had back.

“I feel like I’ve made some good plays, but bottom line is win and losing games,’’ Stafford said. “They make a field goal at the end of the game to win it. We have a chance to come back. We don’t get it done with 30-something seconds left. That’s a tough pill to swallow.”

The first half of the year Stafford and the offense were in more of a rhythm. His interceptions were limited, he was getting good protection from the offensive line. No games are easy, but the offense seemed to find a way to move the ball and the team got off to a 6-3 start.

“We were really doing a good job of keeping the turnovers to a minimum, and we’ve had a couple games where some of it’s bad luck, some of it we have to look at where we went with that ball in that situation and learn from it,’’ Linehan said. “There’s nobody that learns better than him. He’s working really hard at a lot of those things. You just have to remember, that guy is 25 years old and he owns every franchise record — it might not be every one, but it’s pretty close.’’

Stafford was his usual upbeat self on Friday. He said it’s been a good week of practice.

While fans have been shaking their heads and wringing their hands since Monday night, the team has moved on. It would be counter-productive to wallow in whatever happened against the Ravens.

“Honestly, I have kind of liked the fact that we are coming back on somewhat of a short week,’’ Stafford said. “We get a chance to get out there and start practicing again. We have had a great week of practice. Guys have put in a ton of time and effort. Being on a short week to get caught up on the Giants and be ready to go for this one.”

Since minutes after the game, Stafford’s teammates have stepped up to say that loss was not on their quarterback. It was on all of them.

“He has to understand he didn’t lose the game. We didn’t lose the game because of one person,’’ center Dominic Raiola said. “That’s so cliche to say, everybody expects so much because he got a new deal and he’s the franchise and this and that. He knows that.’’

They are relying on each other to win the final two games, and with some help from the Bears and Packers, maybe glide into the playoffs.

Stafford will probably always draw criticism because his mechanics don’t necessarily meet the common standard. It doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just not what’s seen every day.

He’s one of just four NFL quarterbacks to throw for 5,000 yards in a season (2011) and he was just 63 yards short in 2012.

To jump to an elite status in the NFL, Stafford needs to get the Lions into the playoffs and win postseason games.

It’s probably not going to happen this season, although the door is cracked.